Motorway rape case: IG Punjab refuses to defend CCPO Lahore's remarks

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Inspector-General of Police for Punjab Inam Ghani addressing a press conference, in Lahore — Geo News/File

Inspector General (IG) Punjab Inam Ghani on Saturday refused to defend the victim-blaming comments by Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Umar Sheikh on the Lahore motorway rape incident.

Stressing that in "no way the victim can be blamed for the horrific event", Ghani said: “[The] guard cannot tell the owner of the house to protect their belongings themselves".

Meanwhile, Law Minister Raja Basharat had also termed the CCPO’s statement 'inappropriate' and maintained that he does not approve or agree with whatever the CCPO had earlier said.

CCPO Lahore lands in hot water with victim-blaming remarks

CCPO Lahore landed in hot water on Thursday after he put the blame on the Lahore motorway gang-rape incident. In his remarks, the CCPO wondered why the woman took the route to travel and said that she should have checked her petrol tank before getting on the said route.

The CCPO is set to lead the investigation of the gruesome incident.

Read more: Lahore CCPO blames motorway rape victim for choice of route, travelling late at night

Talking to Dunya News on the matter, Sheikh had said that the woman had left Lahore's Defence area at 12:30am for Gujranwala.

"I am surprised that a mother of three, a lone driver [...] after leaving Defence should have taken the straight route from GT Road — a generally well-populated area," he had said.

The CCPO had said that the victim should have "at least" checked her car's fuel tank before getting on the route as there is no petrol pump along it.

Robbers gang-rape woman on Motorway

On Tuesday night, it was reported that two robbers had gang-raped a woman who was with her children, on the motorway within Gujjarpura police's jurisdiction.

The woman, along with her three children, was driving to Gujranwala in her car when she was forced to stop at the Gujjarpura section of the motorway after running out of fuel, at around 1:30am. 

She immediately called a relative and sent him her location. He asked her to also dial the Motorway Police helpline 130 from which she reportedly received no response.

In the meantime, two robbers approached the car, broke the window, and took the woman and her children to the nearby bushes where they raped her repeatedly in front of the children. They also snatched her purse carrying Rs100,000 in cash, one bracelet, car registration papers, and three ATM cards.